Democrats and Republications Abroad, two non-profit organizations representing US citizens, are pushing hard over the next few weeks for expat Americans to register for the next presidential election. While some states retain permanent overseas registration, most require their citizens to re-register every time. Democrats Abroad Switzerland is holding informal events in Geneva and Zurich to […]
Swiss observers to go to Western Sahara
The government announced on 20 August that Switzerland is to send half a dozen military observers to Western Sahara. Stressing that the observers will be unarmed, the government has announced that they will join the United Nations peacekeeping mission in the Western Sahara to reinforce peace-keepers supervising the 1988 ceasefire agreement between Morocco and the […]
Shop till the staff drop – Federal Council moves to liberalise shopping hours
The Federal Council decided on Wednesday to continue its efforts to liberalise retail opening hours across the country. The proposed law allows retailers to open from at least 6.00 to 20.00 during the week and from 06: 00 to 19.00 on Saturdays. This contentious decision is taken in the face of direct opposition from the […]
Grison derailment
The continuous downpours of recent weeks and rainfall of 40 to 60 mm in the past 24 hours has caused a shock landslide to hit a Rhaetian Railway train carrying 200 passengers running along the Albula line between Tiefencastel und Thusis in the Grison. Three passenger cars were derailed and 11 people injured. One of […]
Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage – Haruki Murakami
Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage (色彩を持たない多崎つくると、彼の巡礼の年) is the thirteenth novel by Japanese writer Haruki Murakami. Published in April 2013 in Japan, it is a publishing sensation selling one million copies in one month.
The story is about Tsukuru Tazaki. In high school, his four best friends all had a colour as part of their surnames, leaving him the “colourless” one of their group. But his life is derailed in 1995 when his friends abruptly cut all ties to him. The never-explained ostracism leaves him suicidal and when his only college friend vanishes the next semester, he feels “fated to always be alone”.
Now at 36, Tsukuru is spurred by his new girlfriend to come face-to-face with the past and find out why his friends rejected him. He visits them one by one…
Rock Oz’Arènes, Avenches,
This festival takes place between 13th and 16th August in the magnificent Roman amphitheater in Avenches. The Oz’Arènes Rock Festival is sometimes called the smallest of the big festivals, although this is won’t be for much longer as it is becoming more and more successful. This year over 40 artists ranging from Motorhead and Patti […]
Five franc fakes
Recent reports that counterfeit 5 franc coins are in circulation has caused consternation among traders and the general public according to a report in GHI, the Geneva newspaper. The standard of counterfeiting is very high and casual users may easily be caught out. The report claims that traders and citizens are reluctant to use or […]
University of Geneva alumnus wins Fields prize
The Fields Medal, officially known as International Medal for Outstanding Discoveries in Mathematics, is a prize awarded to two, three, or four mathematicians aged under 40 by the International Mathematical Union. It has been awarded every four years since 1950. It is often viewed as the greatest honour a mathematician can receive and has often […]
Swiss cheese off EU over Russian sanctions
As tensions rise between Russia and the West, Switzerland announced last week that it has added 26 Russian and Ukrainian individuals and 18 organizations to its sanctions list, bringing the total number of individuals affected to 87 and the number of entities to 20. Switzerland is not part of the European Union and is not […]
Geneva voted “Europe’s Leading City Break Destination 2014”
World Travel Awards (WTA) this week have named Geneva “Europe’s Leading City Break Destination 2014” at the what is considered by the industry to be the ‘Oscars’ of Tourism. The city triumphed at the prestigious awards which took place in Athens on 2 August. Already recognised as a leading business destination, this win is a […]
